How old was Abraham when he died?

Answer

After the Lord called Abraham, he walked with God for a hundred years. “So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.” (Genesis 12:4) and was referred to as “God’s friend.” “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” (James 2:23). When the Lord made His covenant with Abraham, He promised Abraham that he would die “in peace and be buried at a good old age.” “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.” (Genesis 15:15). Both of those promises came to pass. According to Genesis 25:7–8, Abraham was 175 years old when he died: “Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.”

The average lifespan at that time in history was between 130 and 200 years. Terah, Abraham’s father, lived to be 205. “And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.” (Genesis 11:32); Sarah died at 127. “And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.” (Genesis 23:1); Ishmael lived to 137. “And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.”

Abraham lived to be 175 years old «Altogether, Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. », (Genesis 25:7); Isaac lived to be 180 years old «And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years. », (Genesis 35:28). Therefore, Abraham had a long and fulfilling life.

Similar to Sarah, who passed away at the age of 127 «Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. This was the length of Sarah’s life. », (Genesis 23:1), Abraham lived and died faithfully and obediently to God. He heeded the Lord’s call, living as a stranger in a foreign land and a pilgrim seeking a heavenly kingdom. As the father of a multitude of descendants “as countless as the stars in the sky and as innumerable as the sand on the seashore,” Abraham witnessed the fulfillment of God’s covenant (Hebrews 11:8-16).

The Bible portrays Abraham as “full of years” at his death «Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. », (Genesis 25:8). This expression in Hebrew conveys not only longevity but also that Abraham lived a rich—meaning divinely blessed, joyful, and fulfilling—life. The phrase “gathered to his people” (verse 8) does not imply being “buried with his family,” as it may suggest. Sarah was the only one buried in the family tomb (Genesis 23:17-19). Instead, it signifies “departed to the realm of the dead,” indicating the fate of the soul and spirit, not the body. Just as all believers will be reunited with their saved loved ones in the afterlife (John 14:1-6).

a>, so Abraham’s spirit was gathered to his people, the family of God, in death.

Abraham’s burial in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre was attended by both of his sons—Isaac, the son of promise, and Ishmael, the firstborn son of birthright. The fact that the brothers were together at Abraham’s burial suggests that a possible reconciliation had taken place between them, either at the time of Abraham’s death or some earlier moment after Ishmael and Hagar had been sent away.

Before he died, Abraham gave all his property, possessions, and the blessings of the covenant to Isaac, the promised son of Abraham’s union with Sarah. The sons of his concubines (Hagar and Keturah) were sent away with gifts from their father’s house into the country east of Canaan (Genesis 25:5-11).

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul assures us that all who trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior share in the spiritual inheritance Abraham left to Isaac when he died: “Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise” «Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. », (Galatians 4:28). In the same way Abraham was made righteous through his faith in God, we have been made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 4:1-5).